The Constitution of Kazakhstan concentrates power in the presidency. President Nursultan Nazarbayev is the dominant political figure. The Constitution, adopted in 1995 in a referendum marred by irregularities, permits the President to legislate by decree and dominate the legislature and judiciary; it cannot be changed or amended without the President's consent. President Nazarbayev was elected to a new 7-year term on January 10, 1999 in an election that fell far short of international standards. Previous presidential elections originally scheduled for 1996 did not take place, as President Nazarbayev's term in office was extended in a separate 1995 referendum, also marred by irregularities. Under the 1995 Constitution, Parliament's powers are more limited than previously. However, members of Parliament have the right to introduce legislation and some bills introduced by Parliament have become laws. The judiciary remained under the control of the President and the executive branch. The lack of an independent judiciary made it difficult to root out corruption, which was pervasive throughout the Government.
The Committee for National Security (the KNB, successor to the KGB) is responsible for national security, law enforcement activities on the national level, and counterintelligence. An external intelligence service, Barlau (the Kazakh word for intelligence) was created in 1997, but during the year, Barlau's functions were reabsorbed into the KNB. The KNB reports directly to the President. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is subordinate to the KNB, supervises the criminal police, who are poorly paid and widely believed to be corrupt. The KNB continued efforts to improve its public image by focusing on fighting government corruption, religious extremism, terrorism, and organized crime. Members of the security forces committed human rights abuses.
Kazakhstan is rich in natural resources, chiefly petroleum and minerals. The Government has made significant progress toward a market-based economy since independence. After a 5-year decline, overall production began to rise in 1996, although the rate of growth slowed in 1998. The Government has been successful in stabilizing the local currency (tenge) and reducing inflation to less than 10 percent a year. The average annual wage was approximately $1,500. The agricultural sector has been slow to privatize. The Government has privatized successfully small and medium-sized firms and most large-scale industrial complexes. However, living standards for the majority of the population continue to decline. According to several surveys, in 1997 approximately 33 percent of citizens lived below the government-defined poverty line of $50 per month.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens in some areas, but serious problems remain in others. Democratic institutions are weak. The Government infringed on citizens' right to change their government, notably in its flawed conduct of preparations for the January 1999 presidential election. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) publicly cited flawed election preparations in declining the Government's request for election observers. The Government used a new amendment to the presidential decree on elections to prohibit some government opponents from running in the election because they were found guilty of participating in unauthorized public meetings and demonstrations. The Government repeatedly harassed its opponents during the election campaign and appeared complicit in at least four assaults on perceived opponents.
The legal structure, including the Constitution adopted in 1995, does not fully safeguard human rights. Members of the security forces often beat or otherwise abused detainees, and prison conditions remained harsh. There were allegations of arbitrary arrest and detention, and prolonged detention is a problem. The judiciary remains under the control of the President and the executive branch, and corruption is deeply rooted. A political prisoner, Labor Movement leader Madel Ismailov, was sentenced to 1 year in prison for insulting the President. The Government infringed on citizens' rights to privacy.
Government tolerance of the independent media markedly deteriorated, as some opposition newspapers and other media outlets were ordered to close, forced to sell to progovernment interests, or brought under pressure by regulatory authorities. The Government reportedly pressured media not to cover the opposition during the presidential campaign. The media practiced self-censorship and the Government maintained control of most printing presses and facilities. Academic freedom is not respected. Freedom of assembly sometimes was restricted. Some organizers of unsanctioned demonstrations were arrested and fined or imprisoned. Freedom of association, while generally respected, sometimes was hindered by complicated and controversial registration requirements that restrict this right for organizations and political parties. Domestic violence against women remained a problem. There was discrimination against women, the disabled, and ethnic minorities. The Government discriminated in favor of ethnic Kazakhs. The Government limited worker rights; it tried to limit the influence of independent trade unions, both directly and through its support for state-sponsored unions, and members of independent trade unions were harassed. The courts removed the legal status of two independent unions in Kentau for holding unauthorized demonstrations to protest unpaid wages.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the various denominations worship without government interference. However, the Constitution also requires that the appointment by foreign religious centers of the heads of religious associations must be carried out "in coordination with the Government," as must the activities of foreign religious associations. The chief of the KNB testified to Parliament in June that preventing the spread of Islamic and Christian "religious extremism" was a top priority of the internal intelligence service. In general the Government does not interfere with the appointment of religious leaders or the activities of foreign religious associations. However, during the year, criminal and deportation proceedings were brought against foreign Muslim missionaries perceived to be teaching "radical fundamentalist Islam." Other foreign missionaries, unwelcome to some Orthodox and Muslim citizens, have complained of occasional harassment by low-level government officials. In particular evangelical Protestants working in NGO's and social services have alleged government hostility toward their efforts to proselytize.
In July the KNB and the General Prosecutor launched a criminal investigation of the activities of Muslim missionaries from Egypt, Sudan, and Jordan in the southern Kazakhstan oblast. Investigators alleged that the activities of the foreign missionaries violated Criminal Code and National Security Law provisions against threatening the national constitutional system. In September the authorities detained and issued deportation orders against six unaccredited Muslim missionaries from Pakistan who planned to attend a religious conference in the Zhambyl region. A Muslim missionary from Uzbekistan reportedly was deported in the latter half of the year for preaching "radical Islamic fundamentalism" in Kyzyl Orda.
In April Almaty police prevented members of the Union of Semirechiye Cossacks dressed in traditional military uniforms from entering the Holy Ascension Cathedral on Orthodox Easter. Law enforcement authorities considered that wearing such uniforms was a violation of the provision in the law on public associations against the creation of "military organizations with military uniforms and special signs." District and appeals courts in Almaty rejected subsequent efforts by the Almaty city prosecutor's office to suspend activities by the Union of Semirechiye Cossacks.
The Islamic mufti and the Russian Orthodox archbishop appeared together several times in public to promote religious and ethnic harmony, usually at the invitation of and with the President.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution provides for the right to emigrate and the right of repatriation; both are respected in practice. The new law on national security prohibits persons who had access to state secrets through their work from taking up permanent residence abroad for 5 years after leaving government service. Citizens have the right to change their citizenship, but are not permitted to hold dual citizenship.
According to the Constitution, everyone who is legally present on the territory of the Republic has the right to move freely on its territory and freely choose a place of residence except in cases stipulated by law. This provision formally abolished the "propiska" system of residence permits, a holdover from the Soviet era, and replaced it with a system of registration. However, in practice, citizens still are required to register in order to prove legal residence and obtain city services. Registration in most of the country generally was routine, but it was difficult to register in Almaty due to its relative affluence and local officials' fears of overcrowding. The Government can refuse to register a citizen, just as it did under the propiska system, in order to limit the number of persons who can move to a certain city or area.
There were a few reports of government efforts to restrict the movement of foreigners around the country. Foreigners were detained for wandering into restricted areas that were not clearly marked. Some foreigners reported that they either were denied access or required to pay exorbitant entry fees to ostensibly free national parks. Internal visas are no longer required for foreigners traveling outside Almaty.
An exit visa is required for citizens who wish to travel abroad, although refusals are rare. There have been reports of some officials demanding bribes for exit visas. It is usually necessary to meet a number of bureaucratic requirements before the exit visa is issued. For example, close relatives with a claim to support from the applicant must give their concurrence. Intending emigrants also must obtain evidence that they have no outstanding financial obligations. Foreigners must have exit visas, although they receive them routinely as part of their entry visa. Foreigners who overstay their original visa, or who did not receive an exit visa as part of their original visa, must get an exit visa from the immigration authorities before leaving. Foreigners staying at least 3 days in the country, regardless of whether they are staying 3 days in any individual city, must register with the local visa registry office. Many have complained that the process is bureaucratically cumbersome. Immigration authorities refused to allow foreigners without proof of registration to leave the country.
The Government accords special treatment to ethnic Kazakhs and their families who fled during Stalin's era and wish to return. Kazakhs in this category are entitled to citizenship and many other privileges. Anyone else, including ethnic Kazakhs who are not considered refugees from the Stalin era, such as the descendants of Kazakhs who moved to Mongolia during the previous century, must apply for permission to return. However, it is the stated policy of the Government to encourage and assist all ethnic Kazakhs living outside the country to return, if they so desire.
The Government cooperates with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees. There were no reports of the forced expulsion of refugees. Following the passage of a 1997 migration law and creation of the Agency for Migration and Demography, the Government began in April to register asylum seekers and to determine their status in consultation with the UNHCR. Ethnic Kazakh migrants are automatically eligible for citizenship. Migrants from other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries are not considered to be refugees as they may travel and settle freely in any CIS country. All non-CIS citizens are considered to be intending immigrants. In practice, however, the Government is tolerant in its treatment of local refugee populations. Only the President can grant political asylum. The issue of the provision of first asylum has arisen, but the Government has not passed legislation and implementing procedures in conformity with internationally recognized norms.
The UNHCR estimated that there were approximately 14,000 forcibly displaced persons in the country (about 6,000 each from Tajikistan and Chechnya and 2,000 from Afghanistan). By October the Government had registered approximately 900 asylum seekers and accorded refugee status to about 10 percent of them. The Government continues to give priority to the return of ethnic Kazakhs in order to increase the percentage of Kazakhs in the overall population and to offset the large-scale emigration of ethnic Russians and Germans. Since independence approximately 155,000 ethnic Kazakhs, mostly from other CIS countries, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Turkey, China, and Saudi Arabia have immigrated. The Government struggled to find resources for integration programs for these immigrants, some of whom lived in squalid settings.
Agreements between Kazakhstan and Russia that established broad legal rights for the citizens of one country living on the territory of the other, and provided for expeditious naturalization for citizens of one country who moved to the other, entered into force in 1997.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability, Language, or Social Status
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
The population is between 16 and 17 million and consists of approximately 45 percent Kazakhs and 35 percent ethnic Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, and others) with many other ethnic groups represented. In 1997 for what appeared to be political reasons, the Government announced that ethnic Kazakhs composed 51 percent of the population; most neutral observers agree that this figure is not accurate.
The Government continued to discriminate in favor of ethnic Kazakhs in government employment, where ethnic Kazakhs predominate, as well as in education, housing, and other areas. However, the Government has continued to back away from its "Kazakhification" campaign of the first year of independence (1991-1992). President Nazarbayev has emphasized publicly that all nationalities are welcome, but many non-Kazakhs are anxious about what they perceive as expanding preferences for ethnic Kazakhs. Many ethnic Kazakhs believe that such preferences are needed to reverse 200 years of discrimination. In April President Nazarbayev stated that some 1.5 million Russians and some 800,000 Germans had emigrated to date. He argued that many of these persons were descended from deportees and had chosen to return to their ancestors' lands.
Most of the population speaks Russian; only about one-half of ethnic Kazakhs speak Kazakh fluently. According to the Constitution, the Kazakh language is the state language. The Constitution states that the Russian language is officially used on a basis equal with that of the Kazakh language in organizations and bodies of local self-administration. Some ethnic Russians believe that Russian should be designated as a second state language. The Government is encouraging more education of children in the Kazakh language, but has done little to provide Kazakh-language education for adults. A 1997 language law intended to strengthen the use of Kazakh without infringing on the rights of citizens to use other languages has not been funded sufficiently to make Kazakh language education universal. In 1997 the Parliament committed itself to compile a list of positions requiring Kazakh language fluency but at year's end had not completed the task.
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